HRA Meeting Date: March 7, 2024
To: Members of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority
From: Melissa Hanson, Housing Coordinator
Title
Presentation of Carleton College Academic Civic Engagement Course Projects for SOAN 214: Neighborhoods & Cities: Inequalities and Identities Class.
Body
Action Requested:
None
Summary Report:
The Northfield HRA’s mission is to be a partner in providing a sufficient supply of affordable, adequate, safe and sanitary dwellings in Northfield. The primary guiding document to support that mission is the city’s adopted Comprehensive Plan.
Our goal is to create a community with housing opportunities available along the entire housing spectrum: from renters to homeownership, first-time homeowners, to senior living, workforce and empty nesters. We strive to create affordable housing opportunities and strengthen our neighborhoods utilizing:
• Sustainability
• Innovation
• Partnerships
• Community Input
The Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) is Carleton College’s hub for place-based, experiential learning beyond campus; reciprocal community-campus collaborations; and publicly-engaged scholarship, leadership and action. CCCE reached out to City staff in early winter seeking to partner with the HRA for an Academic Civic Engagement (ACE) Course. CCCE’s learning objectives:
• Understand issues in their real world complexity
• Recognize and honor different forms of knowledge that may reside in/with community partners
• Deepen awareness of one’s positionality in civic engagement efforts, such as gender, race, and socioeconomic background
• Take academic knowledge and do something with it beyond the classroom, while learning in the process
• Develop leadership skills
• Nurture a commitment to life-long civic engagement
Staff presented to the class in January and was a resource to the students during their research. Attachment 1 is the explanation of the assignment. Student presentations will be included as a supplement prior to the meeting.
Alternative Options:
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Financial Impacts:
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Tentative Timelines:
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